By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHEN? Saturday 28 March, opens 31 March and runs through 25 April 2026 RUNTIME: 140 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

Author Tarell Alvin McCraney won the 2017 Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Moonlight and like that film Choir Boy is the story of a young black man struggling with his sexuality.

• Read on for reasons including how this is exactly the sort of work we’ve longed to see at this venue

This time Terique Jarrett (Juniper Blood, Donmar) plays schoolboy Pharus, a gifted singer who wants to lead the school choir at its commencement ceremony but is thrown off track during a performance when a homophobic slur is whispered in his ear by 1 of his classmates.

Some of this production’s most transformative moments are when this 5-strong choir led by Jarrett’s Pharus sings but credit also to bad boy and headmaster’s nephew Bobby played by Rabi Kondé, Pharus’ roommate AJ played by muscular Freddie MacBruce, the religious would-be pastor David given life by Michael Ahomka-Lindsay (Legally Blonde, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and Khalid Daley as dumb jock Jnr.

But who whispered that slur and should Pharus break ranks and inform on those at fault or should he suck it up while still unsure exactly about his sexuality although leaning into it a little with his conflicted jock roommate AJ?

Choir Boy is a coming-of-age play that debuted at the Royal Court in 2012 before transferring to Broadway in 2019, being nominated for 5 Tonys and bagging 2.

This production was revived by Nancy Medina at Bristol Old Vic and has a great deal to commend itself set predominantly in the school hall that sees the choir perform and may strike fear into the heart of any young gay performer finding their feet on a stage in front of all their contemporaries.

Choir Boy is a little like the many gay episodes of Glee then but given a little more heft despite the low stakes because the discussion about black masculinity is a little more complicated than its white counterpart.

The performances are 1st rate and we really didn’t recognise Jarrett from his diametrically opposite turn in Juniper Blood.

Any discussion of the complications of teenage sexuality are always welcome and we reckon many will find comfort in Pharus’ talent and what transpires here.

Knotty problems about grades, whether the exploitation of race and capitalism are intertwined as well as coming out in your teens are also thoughtfully deconstructed and Choir Boy has the power to fill hearts with joy.

Stratford East has a new artistic director in Lisa Spirling and this is exactly the sort of work we’ve longed to see at this venue with Ava Pickett’s Bloodsport After Helen Of Troy likely to set ablaze fall here.

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy Stratford East Tickets
• Have you seen a Stratford East show before and what did you think of this 1? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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